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Former England captain Michael Atherton spoke about captain Jos Buttler and coach Matthew Mott’s futures in white ball cricket after an unsuccessful T20 World Cup 2024 campaign. Notably, England failed to retain their T20 World Cup after they were knocked out of the tournament following a defeat against India in the semifinal. In addition to this, during the edition, the Three Lions faced defeats from three Test winning nations, Australia, South Africa, and India.
Earlier, Jos Buttler-led side failed to defend their ODI World Cup title in India. Their performance in the T20 World Cup raised serious questions about the futures of skipper and coach Matthew Mott in white-ball cricket. Speaking about it, Artherton said that while you can get coaches, there are not may Jos Buttlers around. The cricketer-turned-broadcaster told Sky Sports, "I don't feel it has been like the 50-over tournament where England made every wrong call virtually and you could point the finger at management and say 'why have you done this?"
"Buttler hates it when you hark back to the 50-over World Cup but that is part of the context. England have lost nine and won three against full member nations in those two World Cups, which to my mind is a reflection that the side is not as good as it was. Semi-finals is about their level and they are not quite measuring up to the top teams,” he added.
Talking about Buttler and Mott’s futures, the 56-year-old said, “Mott's future is in the balance. I think Buttler is in a much stronger position because players are less expendable than coaches. You can get coaches but there are not many Jos Buttlers around. That said, Mott is two years into a four-year contract and if you do make a change, you'd better be damn sure you make a change for the better and that is not always straightforward. Coaching national teams is not the plum job it once was. The best candidates want franchise jobs as there is less impingement on their family time.”
